


The Woes Of A Lovestruck Photographer

by bowtiehour



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-19 15:51:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7367878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowtiehour/pseuds/bowtiehour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which, Arthur Pendragon is a photographer with too much appreciation for vintage aesthetics, and Merlin Emrys is the mysterious dream of a model who actually is a university student who once slept with Morgana. Drama ensues. (AU non-canon era)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also working on another Merthur fic at the moment but I felt too uninspired to write that one at the moment so for a break I started writing this. I might be slightly in love with this idea so I'll develop it as I go(expect 10-15k words).  
> Hope you like this:) Feel free to drop comments or kudos, those are appreciated <3

He looked at the bright sky, noticing the way the clouds were trying to hide the sun, noticing the shadow the clouds dropped over the mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful and he knew it, so he snapped a few shots and his face lit up with joy.

  
Arthur loved the feeling of being able to capture something so ever changing, so mesmerizingly unique. It was his favorite thing about his job, the way he had every opportunity to never lose a moment that he found beautiful.

  
Being a photographer meant that he was paid to capture the beauty of things, to capture his aesthetics although he had had to admit he wasn't paid well at all. It would take some time but soon he knew he could be an established photographer and wouldn't have to rely on his father's money. He just hoped he'd get that break soon enough, Arthur pondered as he started his 1960 Ford Thunderbird. His car was ostentatious in a very detached way, he always stood out in his white vintage. It was a kind of flashy that made him feel glad that his father had been collecting vintage cars. Arthur's thunderbird was his pride and joy and he always treated his car with so much love, it was unnerving to watch, or at least that's what Morgana always said.

  
The though of Morgana reminded Arthur that he was supposed to meet her near her university around noon, his sigh was loud as he wondered why she had told him it was urgent. With the window rolled down and the wind messing his hair up, Arthur didn't care, he just wanted to cherish the pretty picture around him as he drove back towards London.

  
***

  
It was around one in the afternoon, and Arthur was getting sick of waiting. He had been awaiting Morgana's arrival for almost an hour at a café around her place and every time he tried to ring her up, she wouldn't pick up the phone. His sister was always like this, but being the caring idiot Arthur was he didn't leave.

  
He sat quietly sipping his iced latte, and going through the pictures he had clicked in the morning. His bulky camera was still strapped around his neck since he hadn't gotten the chance to go to his apartment all across the city. Arthur looked around the café and noticed there were only two other tables occupied. One where a girl with pretty blond curls and her boyfriend? He assumed he must have been her boyfriend by the way they were holding hands every second as if reassuring the other of each other's presence. It was cute and fascinating somehow, Arthur had never been so in love at any point in his life and their togetherness was quite charming to watch. So even though he knew it was a slight invasion of privacy, he took a zoomed in picture of their hands almost touching, their skin tones a beautiful contrast and the café's bright atmosphere gave the photo a warm look. Thankfully, they didn't realise that Arthur had taken a picture, perhaps because he was good at silently taking pictures.

  
Arthur looked at his watch, it was 1:19pm. Picking up his phone, Arthur texted Morgana.  
"Waited for a few hours. Thanks for not showing up:)"

  
As Arthur contemplated whether or not Morgana would appreciated the universal sarcastic smiley face, he noticed someone enter the café. The man who had just walked in was in his early twenties, dark hair that Arthur wished he had because he knew how well the photos of dark haired models turned out in brightly lit spaces, his eyes were ever so distracting and from afar Arthur couldn't really make out their colour and it annoyed him. His cheekbones were sharp and his skin so pale, his entire body was the perfect portrait. Arthur's breath hitched.

  
The most ethereal looking man Arthur had ever seen was now approaching the barista, his smile pleasant and not quite beautiful in the way everything else about him was. His smile looked real, and Arthur knew if he were to take up some close shots of him, the man would smile in the most genuine way possible or maybe he would have a broodingly serious expression. This man would never have an in between stance as a model. Before Arthur got further distracted, his sister Morgana decided to text him.

  
The text said, "Sorry couldn't make it and for the love of Hera, stop being such a whiny and sarcastic shit."

  
Of course, Morgana was going to be rude and drag Hera into this. Considering she was majoring in Mythology and Legends, it was pretty normal. Also considering she was a fan of every strong woman that had ever been written about, it was typical of her. Arthur was mildly annoyed, but before he could reply he remembered the gorgeous man with his dark tousled hair and heard the barista call out the man's name, "A decaf Expresso for Merlin!".  
So his name was Merlin, Arthur thought. An exquisite name, it sounded rather out of place but the man could pull it off somehow. Now, Arthur knew he shouldn't once again do this but he couldn't help himself from quietly snapping a few photos of this man. Mer-lin, Arthur thought, would make a wonderful model with his rugged beauty and his smart sense of fashion. Merlin wore a tweed blazer, it was probably a hand me down but the vintage aesthetic value wasn't lost on Arthur, his brown oxford boots weren't shiny but had a little white paint on one side and so Arthur decided that Merlin was an artist of some sort. He took another silent shot of this bizarre man's attire, completely ashamed yet unable to stop the wonder he felt as a photographer when he saw this walking breathing human with too much aesthetic value embedded in his very persona.

  
Before Arthur could muster the courage to go and approach him, Merlin was out the door. His swift exit just provided Arthur with an excuse to never have to think about him again, but as Arthur himself paid for his coffee and walked out the door the only thing on his mind was Merlin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur is annoyed. Morgana knows what's wrong. She also knows all about Arthur's new favourite stranger.

The alarm buzzed loudly, Arthur grimaced as his hand reached towards the alarm to put it on snooze. He needed another hour of sleep, it was Saturday for gods sake. Turning on his back, Arthur stuffed his face with the pillow and draped the quilt over himself. Grunting as he felt the sleep leave him.  

For a while he thrashed around trying to fall asleep. It wasn't working, sighing he got up and headed towards the washroom. No point now, he might as well just get on with his day early. 

*** 

Arthur parked his car in the basement, his body completely tired. His arms and knees were aching from all the driving they had committed today. Honestly, he was surprised that he was able to stand at all when his body really didn't have any energy, he just wanted to drop down on his bed and sleep for ten hours straight. Turns out looking for a job or a commission is hard when no one recognises you as a photographer, but only as the "Younger Pendragdon". It was actually rather sad. He had hoped today's interview would land him a job where people actually appreciated his photographs rather than the fact that he would inherit a billion dollar company someday soon, and it was wiser to be on his better side. The woman who had interviewed him hadn't even glanced at his portfolio before she began sprouting out when he should start working there. 

After that scene, Arthur decided to not waste any more of his Saturday and had met up with a few friend, namely, Leon. It had been nice because Leon always listened to him go on about his problems without saying things like, "Oh, but your dad's rich so it'll work out anyway!"  or the "Life isn't fair, mate! Get over yourself.". No, Leon listened and offered advice that made him feel all the better about his insignificant life up to this point. 

Maybe it was the emotionally frustrating turmoil of his day or the weariness, Arthur reached his floor and entered his house, barely registering that the lights were turned on. In his completely oblivious state, Arthur nearly walked past her. 

Her here being his sister Morgana. Who was seated on the sofa, a few photographs sprawled across her lap, as she said, "Hello, dear brother. How was your day?" 

Arthur nearly jumped out of his own skin, registering the scene in front of him. Morgana sat on the gray couch, wearing black denim shorts and a rather huge gray sweatshirt that usually belonged to Arthur but was borrowed by Morgana everytime she stayed over. Her eyes looked bright, and she herself looked quite scary, what with that knowing smirk coating he delicate features.  

"What are you doing here?", Arthur asked, knowing already that either he was in trouble from Morgana or she herself was in trouble. But a quick survey made him finally realise what photos Morgana had been gazing at.  

Shit, shit, shit. Holy shit. 

Morgana was clutching a picture in her hand of none other than Arthur's new favorite aesthetic  to fantasize about. It was Merlin, looking glorious even in the low quality candid Arthur had snapped of him and decided to print just to see how the profile would look on a larger scale. Morgana must be thinking that something was up. Of course, she thought something was up. The pictures he had snapped had been intimate in the way they portrayed the unruly dark haired man. 

Maybe something was up, because for the past two days Arthur had been thinking about going back to that café just to catch Merlin. Somehow it didn't seem likely that Arthur would find him there but he had wanted to go all the same. Hell, he wanted to ask that man out for a photoshoot. 

Arthur sat down beside Morgana, too tired to withstand her unflinching gaze while he stood. He looked at her curiously, why was she concerned? Well, she was always concerned, the girl always cared about Arthur's life and couldn't live without knowing any aspect of it. 

So he decided to break the reticence , and asked,"Why are you curious, Morgs? He's just a pretty stranger I caught at that café near you University, honestly." 

Morgana was still looking at him, he usually dark red lips were a chapped pink now and her face was devoid of any expression. Arthur was now genuinely concerned, when did Morgana become so inexpressive towards his nonexistent love life? Then, before he could even state aloud his question, Morgana burst into a laugh. A heartfelt laugh, as if she'd heard a joke. 

"Oh Arthur. If only he was a stranger to me. He's Merlin Emrys and he's a rather sought after boy at Uni. He's bloody gorgeous and the only prize that most people wanna sleep with." Arthur barely wrapped his head around this, Merlin was a university student that Morgana knew? Maybe she could introduce him. Oh, that would be great, but before he could pitch his request he began to notice the blush that began to taint Morgana's cheeks.  

"Morgs. Don't lie to me but did you sleep with him?" Arthur asked, his voice very quiet. This was gonna be a strange conversation. 

"Well... A year ago, if that makes you feel any better?" Morgana asked, and her face was still a pale shade of red but she had recovered her sly grin. 

"Why would any of this make me feel better or worse?" Arthur asked, looking Morgana straight in the eyes. 

"Arthur, you never take pictures of things that don't interest you in some way or the other. So either you might have hit on Merlin a little, or just I don't know? Randomly taken 17 pictures of a stranger who you couldn't give two shits about?" Morgana asked without a pause. Arthur didn't break the silence. 

"So, I was right! You like him!" She grinned, "Like his aesthetic profile more like judging from these pictures. I'd like to tell you, half the girls would probably say the same thing." 

Arthur had picked out only the 'girls' part, he cringed. So, this bloke was straight. That was a bit disappointing if not more, but he decided to  not dwell on that and looked at Morgana expectantly. Trying to make his most convincingly innocent face, Arthur asked, "Then, you'll get me introduced. Right?" 

"It's settled then, you're gonna meet Merlin on Monday." Morgana said, now getting up as she drifted towards the guest bedroom, stifling a yawn. As she left, Arthur muttered a quiet goodnight, barely able to think coherently. His wrangled thoughts were an effect of the strange feeling of butterflies flying up and down his stomach. Monday couldn't come soon enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated guys 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin meets a brother. Arthur meets his new wild fantasy. They both await Morgana's all knowing smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll. Two updates in two days! What is this? It's writer heaven. {It's lit}   
> Feedback is much appreciated, also I don't know how colleges in U.K. work, so you all don't judge my cringe worthy "dorm room" lines. This is more *fluff* and cheesy than anything I usually write, so I hope you enjoy my work :)

Merlin brushed through his hair, and donned a plain denim jacket as he headed to Morgana's dorm, where he was supposed to meet her so because she desperately needed his help with moving in some new furniture into her room. He hadn't hesitated because Monday was free for him until noon when he had Chemistry, besides Morgana was a friend and he didn't mind spending time with her. Some would say he spent too much time with her, and considering at one point, an year ago,he had for a few nights until he realized she was a much better friend then she would be anything else, and she had accepted it with a smile. Albeit the smile was rather sly, and at some point it occurred to Merlin that she just wanted to cross him of her to do list. To do list, Merlin cracked a smiles to himself. 

Merlin was climbing up to the first floor dorms, his steps tiring him. He sighed at his obvious lack of breathe and his deranged body. He vaguely remembered Gwaine telling him that at his slow speed, he'd be the first to get his brain eaten by a zombie in the zombie apocalypse. Gwaine also said he'd run away and leave Merlin at their mercy, his friend was nice like that. 

Finally, approaching Morgana's room Merlin began to catch his breath, when a stranger almost fell into him. Merlin stumbled backwards, looking up at the culprit, who had almost sent him to the ground. 

"Mate, I'm sorry." Merlin gushed out even though he wasn't totally at fault, maybe a little because he hadn't looked where he was going but at least the other guy should have gotten his bearing right. The guy in question looked almost apologetic and smiled at Merlin. 

Merlin was blown away.That smile melted his insides apart, just by the shyness and the bright eyes look the man's eyes got was enough to make him grow even more fascinated. That smile could have cured every ailment the world could conjure in a moment. That smile could have shattered the hearts of a thousand, no matter how cold the beholder was. It was a smile filled with a brilliance that was so hard to find, the genuinity of it startled Merlin. He swore under his breath, "Holy shit." It wasn't very loud but judging by the way the man's smile faded and was replaced by a rather confused expression, Merlin decided he must have been heard. 

"Sorry. It was my fault. I'm Arthur, by the way." Arthur reached out with a handshake, and Merlin proceeded to assess the man in front of him more thoroughly as he himself met Arthur's handshake and smiles warmly at Arthur. A bit too warm, if he was being honest but there was a beauty to Arthur that drew on that part of his behavior. 

"I'm Merlin. It's a pleasure to meet you and no, I have to say it was my fault. At least partially." 

"No, Merlin. It was totally your fault, but I'm glad you've recognized your mistake so fast." Arthur paused, his lips twisting in a smirk as he continued, "Most people wouldn't be so damned gracious." 

Merlin grinned and exclaimed, "You part! I was only just being nice." 

"Not overly so, since you've already decided you can call me a prat." Arthur glanced at Merlin, his expression nothing if not falsely innocent as the banter between them began to rattle on.  

Merlin found it surprising that he'd managed to forget what he was here for. In between his glances over Arthur's tall and well structured frame, his raging blue eyes, his full lips and his goddamned smile and not forgetting the blond hair that shone so brightly even in the dull corridor that it almost made it look like Arthur was a walking body of radiance. Just like that, Merlin had forgotten he was here to meet Morgana. Giving Arthur a smile, he said, "It was nice meeting you, my lovely prat but I need to be at a friends right now. Hope I'll see you later?" Merlin asked, maybe he was flirting. Go figure. 

"Most likely not, I'm here to help out my sister with something. But hopefully I'll catch you sometime." Arthur said, and if Merlin had been someone with an observant eye, he would have noticed the way Arthur almost said this guiltily, but for now he seemed oblivious to Arthur precailment.  

"Would you happen to know where Morgana Pendragdon's place is?" Arthur asked Merlin. For a second, Merlin's brain didn't register what he had heard but then it did and he couldn't stop his mouth from falling open. 

"You are Arthur, as in Arthur Pendragon, the older and the wiser? The one who advices Morgs about every crisis she ever faces? The one who almost threatened Gwain once?" At the last bit, Merlin bit back a laugh. "Oh god, you might be the only hero the world needs. I mean, the Gwaine thing has earned you my eternal respect considering the challenge the man must have been." 

Arthur chuckled and Merlin could have admitted right there that he found the amused chuckle rather hot. Merlin felt the "bicurious" sentiment arise. Here he was already hitting on Morgana's brother after having slept with her a year ago. Great. Just perfect. Damn his luck, he shouldn't hit on her brother. 

 "I don't know what you know of the 'Gwaine incident' but it really wasn't much." Arthur said, a little bit flustered. 

"Not much? Not much, seriously? You literally left him in the middle of a bloody parking lot at three am after having punched him twice when you realised that he was flirting with your sister on a bet. What surprised me was that when he got back, he said you were right for not letting him make a fool out of your sister. And trust me, drunk or not, Gwaine will never admit anyone else is right." Merlin knew he was babbling, but they had almost reached Morgana's room and Merlin wanted to see why both he and Arthur had been called upon by her. He was slightly nervous at the thought of what that witch might have called them for. 

His mind was buzzing with ideas along the lines of "She's setting you up." or "She's gonna get you punched." None of the choices looked good, considering Arthur's muscled arms.  

"I'm glad you don't think highly of Gwaine in that aspect either, because it would break my heart if you started defending his honor when he was wrong to make fun of a girl by setting up a false pretense. Although, I think I owe him an apology... And a drink too." Arthur grimaced, thinking about how he had overreacted with the bloke. 

"I bet he'd oblige to the drink anytime and the apology may be well deserved considering the bloke was drunk and he didn't deserve more than that one punch. It made him look purple all over for a few weeks, and it didn't help that being my roommate, Gwaine was entitled to crib about how no girls were hitting on him to me every night." Merlin sighed fondly, and Arthur wondered what it must like to be Merlin's friend. It was a fascinating idea, because he realised Merlin was more than a pretty aesthetic boy, but was indeed a never ending source of charm and wit. 

Arthur could imagine himself falling into the pit of darkness, sometimes also called love. He pondered over the fact that Morgana would be waiting for him in her dorm, a smug smile painted on her lips, as he walked in looking every bit as charmed as he felt. 

 


End file.
